On April 1, 2011, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to ratify some of the recommendations put forth by the Malegam Committee, headed by central bank director Y H Malegam, to amend the regulation of the Indian microfinance sector [1].
Category: Trends/Challenges
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) Focus Note Reviews Global Regulation of the Use of Banking Agents by Microfinance Institutions
A new Focus Note from CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) examines the “global regulation of the use of banking agents by microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the issues regulators face in censoring the safe and scalable use of agents [1].”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Freedom from Hunger Staff Co-author “Integrating microfinance and health strategies: examining the evidence to inform policy and practice”
The latest edition of Health Policy and Planning, which is published by the Oxford Journals division of Oxford University Press, includes a paper that examines the benefits of integrating microfinance with health protection services and makes recommendations intended to inform policy and program design for expansion of the practice. The paper can be found at http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/02/21/heapol.czr014.abstract
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Finance, Freie Universitat Berlin Invite Students to Apply for University Meets Microfinance (UMM) Scholarship Programme
PlaNet Finance, a French nonprofit, is inviting students to submit applications for the University Meets Microfinance (UMM) Scholarship Programme.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Cracking the Nut – Overcoming Obstacles to Rural and Agricultural Finance, Washington, DC, United States, June 20-21, 2011
Name of Event: Cracking the Nut – Overcoming Obstacles to Rural and Agricultural Finance
Date of Event: June 20 – June 21, 2011
Place of Event: Washington, DC, United States
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Signs United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Development (PRI), Will Promote PRI Through Events in Emerging Markets
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, recently signed the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Development (PRI), a framework that demonstrates the signatories’ commitment to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment processes—including those in the microfinance industry.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to Provide Joint Advisory Services, Promote Development of Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), an organization founded by the governments of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua to promote economic and social development in the region, recently signed an agreement to provide joint advisory services to government projects with private sector participation in CABEI member nations. Through this effort to increase public/private synergies, IFC aims to improve the business climate for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by creating development opportunities and supporting infrastructure improvements.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: PlaNet Finance, Oliver Wyman Publish Report on Mobile Technology Providing Access to Finance Beyond Simple Payments
PlaNet Finance, a France-based non-governmental organization (NGO) with the mission of developing microfinance, and Oliver Wyman, a US-based management consulting company, have published a joint report exploring the ability of mobile technology to provide access to a wide range of financial products beyond simple mobile payments. Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a US-based private foundation, the report examines distribution strategies and “second-generation” mobile microfinance products piloted in West Africa and Southeast Asia.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP Launches Islamic Microfinance Blog Series Featuring Finalists of Global Islamic Microfinance Challenge 2010: Al Amal of Yemen, Tanzania ecoVolunteerism, Bisma of Indonesia and Tameer, CWCD of Pakistan
The CGAP Microfinance Blog, which is operated by US-based think tank CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), is featuring a series on Islamic microfinance that profiles the winner and finalists of the Islamic Microfinance Challenge and others in an effort to engage with the broader microfinance and Islamic finance communities to find new ways to support the Islamic microfinance sector. The Islamic Microfinance Series can be found at http://microfinance.cgap.org/category/blog-series/islamic-microfinance-series/
MICROFINANCE EVENT: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) After Hours Seminar #50 – Migrant-backed Loans: Mobilizing Remittances in Guatemala, Washington, DC, United States, April 7, 2011
Event Name: USAID After Hours Seminar #50 – Migrant-backed Loans: Mobilizing Remittances in Guatemala
Event Date: April 7, 2011
Event Location: Washington, DC, United States
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: United Nations (UN) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Loans $90m to Tanzanian Government to Boost Rural Microfinance, Private Sector Development
The International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD), an agency of the United Nations, recently announced a USD 90 million loan to the Tanzanian government to strengthen access to finance in rural areas and to promote private sector development through its “Marketing Infrastructure, Value Addition and Rural Finance Support Program”. The loan agreement was signed in Rome by Kanayo F Nwanze, the President of IFAD and Mustafa Mkulo, the Tanzanian Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) Forecasts Remittances Will Rise in Latin America, Caribbean
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which is managed by the US-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), recently forecast that remittances will rise in Latin American and the Caribbean during 2011 after falling from USD 69.2 billion in 2008 to USD 58.8 billion in 2009 and remaining stable at USD 58.9 billion in 2010. But the purchasing power of those remittances, an important source of capital for poor people in developing countries, is expected to continue to fall. In 2010, the purchasing power of remittances received in Latin America and the Caribbean was 8.9 percent lower than in 2009 due largely to local-currency appreciation.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: African Development Bank (AfDB) Presents Thought Leadership Seminar on Boosting Growth of Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
The African Development Bank (AfDB), a development finance institution that disburses loans and grants to governments and private companies in Africa, recently presented its inaugural Thought Leadership Seminar to boost the development of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa, as part of its knowledge sharing program.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Microcredit Summit Campaign 2011, Valladolid, Spain, November 14-17, 2011
Event Name: Global Microcredit Summit 2011
Event Date: November 14 – November 17, 2011
Event Location: Valladolid, Spain
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Book by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Economist Robert M Townsend, “Financial Systems in Developing Economies”, Uses Thailand As Case Study for Analyzing Finance Policies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Economist Robert M Townsend offers a framework for evaluating the impact of various financial policies in emerging economies in his new book, Financial Systems in Developing Economies.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, Joint Stock Company Fund for Financial Support of Agriculture (FFSA) of Kazakhstan Launch “Center for Assistance to Microcredit Organizations” (CAMCO)
The Microfinance Center (MFC) for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, an international microfinance network based in Poland, and the Joint Stock Company Fund for Financial Support of Agriculture (FFSA), a financial services organization headquartered in Kazakhstan, recently launched the Center for Assistance to Microcredit Organizations (CAMCO) to provide technical assistance to small microfinance institutions (MFIs) in rural and urban Kazakhstan.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Solutions for Financial Inclusion: Serving Rural Women; By Anjali Banthia, Janiece Greene, Celina Kawas, Elizabeth Lynch, Julie Slama; Published by Women’s World Banking (WWB)
By Anjali Banthia, Janiece Greene, Celina Kawas, Elizabeth Lynch and Julie Slama; published by Women’s World Banking (WWB); 2011; 17 pages; available at http://www.swwb.org/sites/default/files/pubs/en/solutions_for_financial_inclusion_serving_rural_women_1.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Banks Collaborate on Restructuring Loans to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), SKS Opts Out
Indian banks that have disbursed loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) have reportedly prepared a blueprint for restructuring these loans. Under the proposal, Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) would be given a maximum of ten years to repay loans to financial institutions at an interest rate of 12 percent. The loans that would be restructured under the proposal are estimated to total INR 130 billion (USD 2.8 billion) [1].